books.google.com - For use in schools and libraries only. The story of Billy Pilgrim, who was a soldier in Dresden when it was fire bombed, a survivor of an airplane crash, a dentist, and a time traveler....https://books.google.com/books/about/Slaughterhouse_Five_Or_The_Children_s_Cr.html?id=Sn56QgAACAAJ&utm_source=gb-gplus-shareSlaughterhouse-Five, Or, The Children's Crusade

User ratings

LibraryThing Review

... book a lot more if Vonnegut was just a decent writer. I know he even admitted to being a crappy writer... I just don't get the accolades. So Billy Pilgrim ... Read full review

Well-written, interesting and educational. - LibraryThing

LibraryThing Review

carmilla222 - May 3, 2007 - LibraryThing

... at the beginning and the far-fetched science-fiction that follows both serve to highlight the devastation of war. Well-written, interesting and educational. ... Read full review

But I just don't enjoy the writing. - LibraryThing

LibraryThing Review

suzemo - March 30, 2013 - LibraryThing

... where they go. The mind-numbing futility of it all. I get it. But I just don't enjoy the writing. I could have liked this book a lot more if Vonnegut was just ... Read full review

I love his satirical style and off-kilter prose. - LibraryThing

LibraryThing Review

lilywren - October 9, 2010 - LibraryThing

... Vonnegut and Slaughterhouse Five is no exception. I love his satirical style and off-kilter prose. My take on the book is possibly slightly different to ... Read full review

What I enjoyed the most was his introduction. - LibraryThing

LibraryThing Review

jmoncton - June 3, 2013 - LibraryThing

... is brilliant, but bizarre. An interesting anti-war book. What I enjoyed the most was his introduction. Vonnegut was a POW during WWII and was sent to Dresden ... Read full review

Vonnegut's selection of words and phrases is powerful. - LibraryThing

LibraryThing Review

drardavis - February 28, 2014 - LibraryThing

... interesting alternative to stream of consciousness. Vonnegut's selection of words and phrases is powerful. The Tralfamadorian's view of death is summed up in ... Read full review

LibraryThing Review

User Review - Proustitutes - LibraryThing

what does this book mean?! it has so many ardent fans but, even amongst top goodreads reviews when read carefully, you see that people are using "so it goes" in various contexts... ironically ... Read full review

Review: Slaughterhouse-Five

User Review - Jr Bacdayan - Goodreads

I was eating a hotdog right after reading Slaughterhouse-Five, and as I was contemplating on what to write for my review, I was suddenly attacked by a bunch of three-headed toads. They called ...Read full review

About the author (1989)

The appeal of Kurt Vonnegut, especially to bright younger readers of the past few decades, may be attributed partly to the fact that he is one of the few writers who have successfully straddled the imaginary line between science-fiction/fantasy and "real literature." He was born in Indianapolis and attended Cornell University, but his college education was interrupted by World War II. Captured during the Battle of the Bulge and imprisoned in Dresden, he received a Purple Heart for what he calls a "ludicrously negligible wound." After the war he returned to Cornell and then earned his M.A. at the University of Chicago.He worked as a police reporter and in public relations before placing several short stories in the popular magazines and beginning his career as a novelist. His first novel, Player Piano (1952), is a highly credible account of a future mechanistic society in which people count for little and machines for much. The Sirens of Titan (1959), is the story of a playboy whisked off to Mars and outer space in order to learn some humbling lessons about Earth's modest function in the total scheme of things. Mother Night (1962) satirizes the Nazi mentality in its narrative about an American writer who broadcasts propaganda in Germany during the war as an Allied agent. Cat's Cradle (1963) makes use of some of Vonnegut's experiences in General Electric laboratories in its story about the discovery of a special kind of ice that destroys the world. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1965) satirizes a benevolent foundation set up to foster the salvation of the world through love, an endeavor with, of course, disastrous results. Slaughterhouse-Five; or The Children's Crusade (1969) is the book that marked a turning point in Vonnegut's career. Based on his experiences in Dresden, it is the story of another Vonnegut surrogate named Billy Pilgrim who travels back and forth in time and becomes a kind of modern-day Everyman. The novel was something of a cult book during the Vietnam era for its antiwar sentiments. Breakfast of Champions (1973), the story of a Pontiac dealer who goes crazy after reading a science fiction novel by "Kilgore Trout," received generally unfavorable reviews but was a commercial success. Slapstick (1976), dedicated to the memory of Laurel and Hardy, is the somewhat wacky memoir of a 100-year-old ex-president who thinks he can solve society's problems by giving everyone a new middle name. In addition to his fiction, Vonnegut has published nonfiction on social problems and other topics, some of which is collected in Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons (1974). He died from head injuries sustained in a fall on April 11, 2007.

Bibliographic information

Title

Slaughterhouse-Five, Or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-dance with Death